Jury acquits Kingsbury man

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A Kingsbury man was acquitted Friday night of all charges after an eight-day trial.

Jeffrey Spencer, 50, was acquitted of all three charges related to a Dec. 18, 2012, incident that occurred on Kingsbury Grade.

Spencer was accused of knocking down 78-year-old Helmut Klementi.

The jury, consisting of eight women and four men, deliberated for more than three hours starting at 6:20 p.m. Friday. The verdict returned at about 9:50 p.m.

Defense attorney William Routsis said that between testimony that contradicted what the victims said, and security footage, the jury found for the defense.

“Jeff Spencer, the facts showed, never assaulted Egon Klementi with a snowplow. Jeff Spencer, the evidence supports, did not threaten him verbally,” Routsis said. “We put on character witness after character witness who said this is not the Jeff Spencer they knew. That he did a good job snowplowing. Members of the neighborhood stood up to protect him. The community defended this man.”

Routsis said that the evidence presented by the prosecution was not sufficient to prove the case.

“Unfortunately there were false allegations,” he said. “The jury had a difficult job to do, and they did it with character and deep mindfulness.”

Spencer had surveillance cameras that showed some of what happened.

“The victims didn’t know the video existed,” he said. “It established that the allegations simply could not be reconciled with the truth. Jeff Spencer yelled out ‘What are you doing on my property,’ and didn’t get an answer. There was a dark figure at night who wouldn’t identify themselves.”

Routsis said he was very happy with the result.

“I think justice was done,” he said. “It shows why the jury system is so profoundly and fundamentally important.”

Routsis had praise for District Judge Michael Gibbons who presided over the case.

“How fortunate Douglas County is to have a judge like Judge Gibbons,” he said. “He made rulings based on the law that were difficult for both parties. He is a tribute to his profession.”

Spencer told deputies that he thought Klementi was a burglar and that he refused to identify himself.